The women's singles figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 15 and 17 February at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, won the gold and silver medals, respectively; while Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won the bronze. The women's competition was overshadowed by the controversy which arose when it was reported that although Kamila Valieva of Russia had tested positive for a banned substance, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that she be allowed to compete in the event pending a formal outcome of their investigation. Since Valieva originally finished in fourth place, her subsequent disqualification did not affect the awarding of the medals for this event.
In 2016, an independent report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed allegations that the Russian Olympic team had been involved in a state-sponsored doping program, active from at least late 2011 through August 2015.[1] On 9 December 2019, the WADA banned Russia from all international competitions after it found that data provided by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency had been manipulated by Russian authorities in order to protect athletes involved in its doping scheme.[2] Under a ban imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Russian athletes could not use the Russian flag or anthem in international competition and had to present themselves as "Neutral Athletes" or a "Neutral Team" at any world championships until 16 December 2022.[3] On 19 February 2021, it was announced that Russian athletes would compete under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[4]
↑Kamila Valieva's results from the 2022 European Championships were among the scores later invalidated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 25 December 2021.[8]
On 14 February, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Valieva be allowed to compete in the individual women's event on grounds that preventing her from competing "would cause her irreparable harm in the circumstances",[20] though her gold medal in the team event was still under consideration. The favorable decision from the Court was made in part due to her age, as minor athletes were subject to different rules than adult athletes.[20][21] As a result, the IOC announced that should Valieva win a medal, no medal ceremony would be held until the investigation were over was over and a concrete decision were made of whether to strip Russia of their medals. To allow for the possibility that her results might be disqualified, the IOC asked the ISU to expand the qualifying field for the free skating by one to twenty-five, contingent upon Valieva being one of the top twenty-four skaters to advance to the free skate.[22]
The top twenty-five highest scoring skaters after the short program advanced to the free skate. Women performed their free skates on 17 February.[5] The free skate could last no more than 4 minutes,[23] and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one had to be a flying spin, and one had to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.[25]
For the 2021–2022 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance–such as jumps and spins–were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution.[26] The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, the average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total elements score.[27] At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on five program components–skating skills, transitions, performance, composition, and interpretation of the music–and assigned a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments.[28] The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.[29]
Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls.[31] The total elements score and program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.[32]
Results
From left to right: The gold, silver, and bronze medalists from the women's event at the 2022 Winter Olympics: Anna Shcherbakova of Russia (gold), Alexandra Trusova of Russia (silver), and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan (bronze)
Although the scandal surrounding Valieva dominated the news cycle, the other skaters focused on their own performances and avoided social media. "It's not easy being here," said Mariah Bell of the United States. "It's a tough situation for everyone."[33] "I concentrated on myself and it didn't matter what was going on around me," commented Olga Mikutina of Austria.[33] "I just wanted to enjoy it and give it everything I had," said Lindsay van Zundert of the Netherlands. "It's just me, my skates, and my program and nothing else."[33] With the possibility that Valieva's score may eventually be stricken, the International Olympic Committee allowed the top twenty-five skaters to advance to the free skate, as opposed to the usual twenty-four. "It was the right decision, I think, because if anything does come up, then that person has their place to skate," said Natasha McKay of Great Britain.[33]
Kamila Valieva, who had been in the lead after the short program, made a series of errors that resulted in her finishing in fourth place. "That's the most mistakes we've ever seen Kamila make in a free skate," commented Johnny Weir on the NBC broadcast.[35] Coach Eteri Tutberidze could be heard berating Valieva after she left the ice: "Why did you let it go? Explain it to me, why? Why did you stop fighting? You let it go after that Axel. Why?"[36] Anna Shcherbakova ended up finishing in first place and winning the gold medal, while Alexandra Trusova finished in second place and Kaori Sakamoto finished in third. Valieva was in tears, and Trusova could be heard shouting, "I hate this sport; I won't go onto the ice again," in response to not winning a gold medal.[37] Johnny Weir provided translation from Russian to English in real time. "I am not happy with the result," said Trusova. "There is no happiness."[37] Shcherbakova was alone when she learned she had won the gold medal. "You win the Olympics and you can't even celebrate," Weir commented.[37] "I really don't believe what I'm seeing," added co-host Tara Lipinski.[37]
Anna Shcherbakova successfully landed both of her quadruple jumps, delivering a clean program that earned her a grand total of 255.95 points and the gold medal. "The importance of this is so huge that I cannot fully understand it yet. At the moment, I have only felt the happiness from the fact that I was able to do everything I am capable of in my program," Shcherbakova stated later.[37] Alexandra Trusova landed five quadruple jumps, but still finished in second place. She later clarified her displeasure by saying that she was happy with her performance, but not with the judges' scores.[37] Kaori Sakamoto was also crying, but tears of joy. "I don't have the big jumps as others would have, which is a big handicap," said Sakamoto. "That means I had to have perfect elements."[37] Sakamoto had the highest-scoring triple Axel of all of the women.[37]
On 15 February, after the short program, The New York Times reported that Kamila Valieva's sample tested positive for an additional two substances, hypoxen and L-Carnitine, which were not on the list of banned substances, in addition to trimetazidine.[40] WADA's filing in Valieva's hearing indicated that her acknowledgement of taking the two permitted substances undercut her testimony that the banned substance was ingested by error.[41] In mid-November, the WADA requested that CAS take up the review of the case, seeking a four-year suspension of Valieva, which would exclude her from competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and to disqualify all of her results dating back to the date of her positive drug test (25 December 2021). WADA President Witold Bańka wrote that "the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) did not meet a WADA-imposed Nov. 4 deadline to deliver a verdict on Valiyeva's case."[42]
The decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport to allow Valieva to compete despite her positive test drew backlash across the sporting community and in the media, with some questioning as to whether Russia had been adequately punished for their statewide doping program.[43][44] While the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the Canadian Olympic Committee blasted the decision as a "disappointment" and "extremely unfortunate",[45][46] the Russian Olympic Committee vowed to take "comprehensive measures" to "keep the honestly won Olympic gold medal [from the team event]".[47] Condemnation of the CAS decision also came from former and current figure skaters on social media,[48][49] although several skaters defended her.[50][51] Some commenting on the situation suggested that blame should not rest with the 15-year-old Valieva, but rather with the Russian system and the coaches and doctors around her.[52][53][54] "Let's be kind to the 15-year-old who produced a positive drug test because she lives in an institutionalized system where she was most likely guided and trusted the adults around her," American skater Mirai Nagasu posted on Twitter.[50] Due to Valieva being a minor, both the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency launched investigations into her entourage, which included coach Eteri Tutberidze and Russian team doctor Filipp Shvetsky.[55] The Russian government and community remained steadfast in their support for Valieva; the Kremlin first referred to the situation as a "misunderstanding", and later issued the following statement: "We boundlessly and fully support Kamila Valieva and call on everyone to support her. And we say to Kamila: Kamila, do not hide your face. You are Russian. Walk proudly everywhere, and most importantly, perform and defeat everyone."[54]
Several American skaters noted parallels with the case of U.S. pairs skater Jessica Calalang, who served an eight-month suspension from competition while under investigation for a positive doping test. Calalang was later absolved of any wrongdoing after the substance was concluded to be a metabolite of ingredients in her makeup, but she and her partner missed several key competitions during her suspension, including the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships.[56]
On 15 February, after the short program, competitors asked about Valieva by the media largely tried to distance themselves from the situation, indicating that they preferred to focus on their own performances. A few athletes made general references about supporting "clean sport" and a "level playing field".[57] Some expressed regret that no medal ceremony for the team event would be held. Valieva herself did not speak with reporters or attend the press conference after the short program, where fellow top three finishers Anna Shcherbakova and Kaori Sakamoto also declined to comment.[57]International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman Mark Adams noted that press conferences are not mandatory at the Olympics, and that if Valieva were to medal, they did not expect her to attend that press conference either.[58]
In a press conference the day after the free skate, IOC president Thomas Bach said he was "very, very disturbed" by the "chilling atmosphere" surrounding Valieva as Eteri Tutberidze berated her following a mistake-filled performance that resulted in her finishing in fourth place.[59][60] Bach also insinuated that her coaches likely played a role in her positive test, saying that "doping is very rarely done alone with the athletes," and that "the ones who have administered this drug in her body, these are the ones who are guilty."[61] The Kremlin responded that "harshness of a coach in high-level sport is key for their athletes to achieve victories" and that Tutberidze's athletes were seeing strong results.[62] Tutberidze herself claimed to be "at a loss from the assessment of our work by the esteemed Mr Bach" in a response to an Instagram post by fellow coach Alexander Zhulin.[63] Several Western media outlets pointed to the extreme emotional reactions of the three Russian skaters – Anna Shcherbakova stated that she felt empty inside, Alexandra Trusova could be heard shouting that she "hated the sport" and swore she would never skate again, as she could not understand how she had only finished in second place after performing a record-setting five quadruple jumps, and Valieva broke down sobbing – as further evidence of the extreme pressure they were all under to deliver results, as well as the abuse they were subjected to from their team.[60][36]
Kamila Valieva of Russia was suspended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a period of four years after testing positive for trimetazidine: an anti-doping rule violation. Her results from the 2022 Winter Olympics were stricken.
In January 2023, RUSADA cleared Valieva of any wrongdoing. Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) stated bluntly: "WADA and the ISU [International Skating Union] have to appeal this decision, for the sake of the credibility of the anti-doping system and the rights of all athletes. The world can't possibly accept this self-serving decision by RUSADA, which in the recent past has been a key instrument of Russia's state sponsored doping fraud and is non-compliant. Justice demands a full, fair, public hearing outside of Russia."[64] Tygart criticized both WADA and the ISU for not taking the matter directly to the CAS: "You know, both [WADA and the ISU] could have gone directly to [the Court of Arbitration for Sport], and taken [the decision] out of Russian hands... Because we knew, you can't have a non-compliant [organization] making a fair, balanced decision."[65] On 29 January 2024, the CAS disqualified Valieva for four years retroactive to 25 December 2021 for the positive test for trimetazidine, which they ruled constituted an anti-doping rule violation.[8] On 30 January 2024, the ISU, among other actions, voided Valieva's fourth-place finish in the women's competition.[66]
At the ISU Congress held in June 2022, members of the ISU Council accepted a proposal to gradually increase the minimum age for senior competition to seventeen beginning with the 2024–25 season. In order to avoid forcing skaters who had already competed in the senior category to return to juniors, the age limit remained unchanged during the 2022–23 season, before increasing to sixteen for the 2023–24 season, and then seventeen for the 2024–25 season.[67] Although there had been previous proposals to increase this age limit, the 2022 vote gained traction following the 2022 Winter Olympics, where Kamila Valieva had only been fifteen years old when she competed.[68]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
